Young skater pursues high-intensity training

As with many Olympic hopefuls, J.R. Celski’s dream to become an Olympic gold medalist has turned into a family project, with the entire family backing the young athlete and sacrificing what they can to make J.R.’s dream come true.

In order to provide J.R. with the best possible training and preparation opportunity, the family moved J.R. to Long Beach, California, where he is a member of the best short track club in the U.S.—with the best coach in the U.S., Wilma Boomstra.
As a member of the club, J.R. has made good progress. His times have all lowered nicely, and he will have the opportunity to test his development in at least two meets this winter: the America Cup I in Saratoga Springs, New York, and at the Junior Short Track Ice Championships in Bay City, Michigan. His goal in both meets is to move into the top 12 in the country. This will be a challenge since J.R. is one of the youngest skaters among the top skaters in the country!

In fact, moving away from home at the young age of 14 to pursue this high intensity training has provided a challenging set of circumstances for the entire family. Fortunately, J.R. has the tremendous support of his two brothers. He lives with his oldest brother, Chris, a recent graduate of San Jose State University, who is working part-time, cooking, and keeping house for the two of them. This arrangement works out well so that J.R. can get to the practice sessions.

Meanwhile, his other brother, David, a sophomore at Central Washington University, telephones frequently to provide moral support whenever he can. David and J.R. remain very close, and David spent two-and-a-half weeks with J.R. in September, before school started, taking him to and from the continuous practice events.

J.R.’s parents have remained at the family home in Federal Way, Washington, to work at their jobs. On weekends, Bob and Sue Celski take turns traveling back and forth to California (alternating every other weekend) to keep the family together as much as possible. They also travel with J.R. to the meets in the northeast or midwest regions of the country. They admit, however, that the change in their family structure has been a difficult one.

“Neither one of us were prepared to have our youngest son leave home just after turning 14 years old—this has been very hard for us. However, with the vast faith we have in God and in our family, we believe we have done the right thing for J.R., and for the family,” says J.R.’s father.

Meanwhile, J.R. seems to have adapted to his new surroundings quite well. Despite having to leave all his friends at the critical time of just entering high school, he seems quite content with his new found situation. He has already made several close friends in the club, as well as in school.

Always an “A” level student, it appears that J.R. remains right on track, academically. He is enrolled in the California Merit Scholar Program, a challenging program suited just right for J.R.’s level of achievement.

The AIM products remain key in J.R.’s daily schedule, and he has built his days around them. He takes eight AIM BarleyLife® capsules when he wakes up, eight more after school, and eight more before going to bed. In addition, he takes AIM Just Carrots® with his afternoon AIM BarleyLife®, and AIM CellSparc® 360 with dinner. J.R. believes that the AIM products will set him apart nutritionally from his competition as he matures in his sport.

We wish J.R. all the best as he continues to “set the trend.”

Copyright © AIM International, Inc. Used with permission.